Electric clock



July-15, 1930. L. JHSTERN 1,770,677

smzcmc CLOCK Filed April 18, 1924 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Ma gkfi a 65 INVENTORATTORNEYS 7 July 15, 1930.

L. J. STERN ELECTRIC CLOCK Filed April 18, 1924 3 Sheets-Sheet 3ATTORNEY;

Patented July 15, 1930 UNITED STATES miwrs a. STERN, or NEW YORK, N.-Y., ASSIGNbR '10 STERLING CLOCK CORPORATION OF NEW YORK 00., me, A

ELECTRIC cLocx Application meaa rn 18,

My invention relates to "improvements in electric clocks and the mainobject of the invention is to provide an arrangement which is. moreeasil repair an replacement of parts, etc. and which is generally moreefficient in construction and operation. To this end my improvementsconsist of various features of construction which will more clearlyappear from the detail description given below taken in con-. nectionwith the accompanying drawings which form a part of thisspecification.

In the drawings Fig. 1 is a perspective of a clock located in the dashof an automobile, the 'clock embodying my improvements in a preferredform thereof. Fi 2 is a front elevation of theclock parts with the outercasing, dial etc. removed. Fig. 3 is an elevation of the parts shown inFig.2, taken at right angles thereto. Fig. 4 is a rear elevation of theparts shown in Figs. 2 and 3. Fig. 5 is a vertical section taken on theline 5'5 of Fig. 4, the surrounding casing and the parts for securingthe clock to the dash-board being also shown in section therewith. Fig.6 is a view similar to Fig. 4 with the electro-magnet windings removed.Fig. 7 is a view' showing some 0 the parts, the section being taken onthe line 77 of Fig. 6. Fig. 8 is a top plan view of the clock secured tothe dash-board. Fig. 9 is a detail section through the axis of the mainarbor of the clock showing the method of securing the clock handsthereto. Fig. 10 is a rear view of the clock movement and Figtll is aside view of the same.

Referring to the drawings, lrepresents the dashboard of an automobilefor use on which the clock is specially adapted, although it will befound useful in many other situations. 2 represents a cylindrical casingclosed at one end by the integral plate or end 3 so that the casing iscup-shaped. Screwed into the front end of the casing so as to be easilyremovable therefrom is a flanged rim 4 adapted to hold the front glass 5through which the clock face is visible.

Within the c'asingis a circular frame plate 6. having secured to thefront thereof a flat ring 7 of the same outside diameter. Rigidlysecured to the plate 6 on the other side thereof assembled anddisassembled for 1924. serial in. 707,321.

the hair spring at 14 and the slow and fast regulating lever at 14having the usual loop 15 engaging the hair spring. On the same axis asthe main arbor is a sleeve 16 which sleeve extends through the rearplate 10 and carries a ratchet wheel 17. The parts are so arranged thatupon a spring tending to rotate the ratchet wheel the clock movementwill be operated.

The main frame plate 6 is centrally apertured as indicated by the line18 on Fig. 2 the aperture being sufficiently large to receive the clockmovement, the rear plate 10 being small enough to pass therethrough. Theedge of the aperture is rabbeted to receive the edge of.

the plate 11 which will not pass through the aperture and the wholeclock movement is rigidly secured in place to the main frame plate 6 byscrews 19 screw-threaded in the plate 6 but the beads of which overlapthe edge of the plate 11 to hold the same and the whole clock movementfirmly in place and rigid with the plate 6. Thus the whole clockmovement unit as shown in Figs. 10 and 11 may be easily removed from theframe plate 6 by merely removing the screws 19. The rear frame plate 8is also provided with a central circular aperture large enough to permitthe ratchet wheel17 to pass therethrough so that when the parts are'inplace the ratchet will be on the rear side of the plate.

.The dial of the clock is shown at 20 and this is secured to the ring 7in front of the main frame plate 6 by bending certain projections fromthe periphery of the dial about the outer edge or periphery of the ring7 as shown at 21. (See Fig. 5.) Extending through the dial '20 is asleeve 22 (see Fig. 9) having fixed on the front end thereof the hourhand 23 and on the inner end thereof a gear 24. Between' the gear 24 andthe dial 20 is a leaf spring 25 which tends to force the gear 24 awayfrom the dial. When the dial is put in place the sleeve 22 is slippedover the front end of the arbor 13 with the gear 24 maintained in meshwith a gear 25 (see Fig. 3) which is rigid with a gear 26 which in turnmeshes with a gear 27 secured on the main arbor 13. The end of the arbor13 is made square or non-circular in cross-section and the minute hand28 is provided at its axis with a corresponding aperture adapted to fitover this portion so as to be turned thereby. The minute hand'28 is heldrigidly on the arbor by the head of a screw 29 which is screwthreadedinto the end of thearbor 13. As the clock is operated and the arbor 13is turned, 7

22 is pressed inwardly thereat so that it is effectively prevented fromslipping longitudinally of the arbor. Thus both hands are firmly held inplace and can not be jarred off as would otherwise be likely when theclock is subjected to excessive jarring such as occurs in use onautomobiles.

31 is a bracket attached to the rear face of the circular frame plate 8(see Figs. 4 and 6) and journaled between the end of the bracket and theplate 8 is a pivot 32 carrying an armature 33 adapted to be attracted bythe polar ends 34 of electro-magnets 35. The armature 33 carries rigidtherewith an arm 36 extending away from the pivot 32 at right angles tothe armature. Pivotally mounted on the end of the arm 36 is a pawl 37,normal- 7 1y pressed against the teeth of the ratchet 17 by a coiledtension spring 38. One end of the spring 38 is secured to a fixedbracket 39 on the plate 8 and the other end of the spring is secured toa hook 40 on thepawl 37 a short distance from the point where the pawlis pivoted-to the arm 36. The spring is so positioned that it not onlytends to rotate the pawl about its pivot and into engagement with theteeth of ratchet wheel 17, but also the spring 38 pulls on the arm 36 ina direction to cause the'pawlto rotate the ratchet wheel 17 andoperatejth'e clock, QAs the ratchet wheel so il tlie armature swingsaway from the Pivotallyfmounted between a bra ket 41, and'theplate 8jisa switchlever 42 having an prm ieaiagag towhich is connected one jd fiiagbile -tensi0ns1 ri g h other.

end erases- 55mg 44"bi'ng connected we projecting arm 45 on the armature33; The switch member 42 is provided with an arm 46 adapted to engage apost 47 struck up from the plate-8, to limit the movement of the switchmember in open position. Pivoted between a bracket 48 and the plate 8about a pivot 49 is a switch contact member 50 carrying an electricalcontact at 51 suitably insulated from the member 50 but electricallyconnected in circuit with the magnets 35 by means of a coil of springWire conductor 52. The member 50 has an arm 53 extending in the oppositedirection from the pivot, which arm is bent over at its outer end andextends into a slot 54 in the face of the plate 8 thereby limiting themovement of the member 50 about its pivot 49 to a very slight movementdetermined by the play which the arm 53 has in the slot 54. The contact51 is preferably made of silver while the switch arm 42 carries anelectrical contact 55 of silver or other suitable metal. The magnets 35are electrically connected in series with one another by conductor 56'.One terminal 57 of the two magnets is connected to one side of a sourceof electrical energy such as a storage battery while the other terminalof the battery is grounded on the metal parts of theapparatus.

Assuming the parts to be in the position shown in Fig. 4, the spring 38will be under tension and will pull upon the arm 36 causing the pawl 37to engage ratchet 17 and turn the same to operate the clock. As the arm36 moves slowly under the action of the spring 38, being retarded by theescapement mechanism of the clock movement, the armature 33simultaneouslygradually moves away from the pole pieces 34 and carrieswith it the end of spring 44 which is attached to the lug 45. When theline between the two ends of the spring 44 is swung over to the otherside of t e pivoting point on bracket 41, the spring 44 suddenly swingsor snaps the switch member 42 about its pivoting point causing thecontact 55 to swing into electrical contact engagement with the contact51 and make contact therewith -(as shown in Fig. 6) with more or less ofa slidin contact so as to kee the engaging faces oft e contacts clean. 0

facilitate this the contact member 51 is carmember 50 about its pivotthereby permitting the contact faces to slide or rub over one another inorder to insure good electricalcontact.

When the contact 55 which is electrically grounded to the metal partsofthe apparatus engages the contact 51, the circuit is completed throughthe magnets which causes the armature 33 to be attracted; and the arm 36again moved to the position shownin Fig. 4

I the pawl 37 slips over one or more teeth of the ratchet 17 but at oncecontinues to operate the same as before, merely engaging the ratchet ina different place. After the arma ture has been attracted a certaindistance toward the pole pieces 34 but before actually coming againstthe pole piece, the line between the two ends of the spring 44 passes tothe other side of the axis about which the switch member 42 is pivoted,whereuponthe spring 44 snaps the switch 42 0 en and causes the switchcontact 55 to be quickly Withdrawn from the contact 51. The resultingbackward opening movement of the switch is limited by the arm 46engaging the bracket post 47 which also serves as a back stop for thearmature 33 which is of course Withdrawn by the main spring when themagnets are disconnected from the source of electrical energy.

The parts may be so adjusted that the switch member Wlll automaticallyclose the circuit through the magnets about once every minute but itwill be seen that as soon as the circuit is closed, the armature isimmediately attracted and places the spring 38 substantially under itsinitial tension and immediately opens the switch, so that the springwill again perform its function of supplying the necessary force tooperate the clock or time piece. The armature 33 at its outer endcarries an arm 58 extending toward the frame plate 8.

- This arm is so positioned, that, should the spring 44 fail to open theswitch when the armature is attracted by the electro-magnet, the arm 58will engage the switch lever 42 and kick the switch open.

The switch member thus intermittently controls the energization anddeenergization of the electro-magnets and the spring 44 connected at oneend to the switch member at a point on one side of its pivotand at theother end to a point on the other side of the pivot and to the armature,is adapted to'throw the switch in each direction in response to themovement of the armature in each direction, and also to hold the switchat the end-of its travel in each direction until the armature has moved.a substantial distance from the end of its travel.

In order to secure the parts firmly in the casing 2, 3, posts 60 arerigidly secured to the frame 6 and extend rearwardly therefrom.

netic means with its associated parts for operating the clock movementare carried between these plates and by the front plate 6 independentlyof the clock movement unit which is readily removable from the frameplatesby merely removing the screws 19 after the glass 5 is removed byunscrewing the rim 4.

y In order to operate the slow and fast regulating lever 14 from theback of the clock, a spindle 64 is provided. This spindle is journaledin one of the posts 65 which support and rigidly connect the core 66 ofthe electromagnet upon the frame plate 8. The spindle 64 extends throughthe back 3 and has a knob 67 rigidly screwed thereon for the urpose ofconveniently turning the same rom the back of the clock. At its oppositeend the spindle 64 has secured thereto a forked member 68, the. forkedpart of which is arranged eccentric to the axis of the spindle 64 andengages the slow and fast regulating lever arm 14 (see Fig. 7) so thatuponturning the from the frame plates 7 and 8 it simply slips out of thefork. The lever 14 has a forwardly projecting arm 69 which extends intoa slot in the dial 20 so as to be visible from the front of the clock,and thus indicate on the face of the clock the extent to whichadjustment has been made.

In order to provide means for adjusting the setting of the hands fromthe back of the clock, there is provided another similar sp ndle 70journaled in a bushing 71 secured rigidly in the frame plate 8. Thespindle 70 is capable of sliding axially in the bushing and its rear endro ects through a hole in the ,back 3 and lias rigidly screwed thereon aknob 73 so thatthe spindle 70 is readily turned as well as moved axiallyfrom the bac A of the clock. At its front end the spindle 70 hasrigidly. secured hereto a small pinion 74. Surrounding the spindle 70between the pin-. ion 74 and the bushing 71 is a coiled compressionspring 75 which normall forces the spindle 70 toward the front unti thepinion 74 is stopped by and lies against the back side of the dial 20. 76 represents a layer pinion journaled on the front face of the plate 11of the clock movement unit and meshes with the re-' ducing gear 26thereon. To set the hands of. the clock from the back the operatormerely i grasps the knob 73 and pulls the spindle 7 U reaiwardly nnti-lthe pinion 74 comes in the same plane and meshes with the pinion 7 6 andthen turns the knob and spindle thereby turning the-pinions and gears74, 7 6, 26, 9,5,

.24 and the hand 23 and gear 27 and main arbor-'13 and hand 28 carriedthereby. Upon releasing the knob 73 the spring 75 forces the pinion 74back against the back of the dial whereby the clock movement unit may beremoved from the rest of the arts shown in Figs. 2 and 3 withoutdisturbing the splndle or removing the pinion 74 therefrom.

In securing this clock on the dashboard the clock, assembled in thecasing is slipped into the clock hole in the dash until the rim 4 comesup against the front of the dash. The back3 of the casing has twodiametrically opposite screw-threaded posts 78 secured rig idly theretoand extending rearwardly therein great detail and with respect to apre-' from. A bracket 7 9 having two inwardly extending legs 80, isprovided with two holes in its back portion, corresponding to the posts78, and. this is slipped on with the posts 78 extending through theseholes, until the pointed ends of the legs 80, on diametrically oppositesides of the clock, engage the back .of the dashboard. NutsSl are thenscrewed up on the posts 78 whereupon the whole clock is held rigidly onthe dash. The back 3 is also provided with a hole through which anelectrical conductor is inserted to connect the =electro-magnet with thestorage battery or other source of electric energy.

While I have described my improvements ferred form thereof, I do notdesire to be .limited to such details or forms since many changes may bemade and the improvements embodied in widely different forms. Hence u-:removable as an assembled unitary structure I desire to cover all formscomingwithin the language or scope of any one or moreof the 1; appendedclaims.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. An electric clock having two spaced apart but rigidly connectedplates, clock ;movement gears and arbors positioned between and carriedby said plates, a main arbor extending through the front plate withclock hands operated thereby, a ratchet positioned atthe back side ofthe rear late and connected to operate the clock, ront and rear frameplate members, means for securing said first two plates with their clockmovement gears to said front frame plate, said first two plates and saidmovement gears being freely ment unit comprising two spaced apart platesrigidly connected together with clock movement gears and arborspositloned between said plates and carried thereby, a frame plate havingan aperture therethrough large enough to receive said .clock movementunit, means for removably securing saidumt to said frame plate in saidaperture, and electro-magnetic means situated back of the clock movementunit and secured to and carried by said frame plate substantiallyindependently of said clock movement unit and ada ted to operate theclock, said clock unit being removable or replaceable through saidaperture in assembled condition and while the electro-magnetic means ismaintained in assembled condition.

3. An electric clock having a clock movement unit comprising two spacedapart plates rigidly connected together with clock movement gears andarbors positioned between said plates and carried thereby, a front frameplate and a rear frame plate rigidly secured together, said front frameplate being apertured to receive said unit, means for securing said unitto said frame plates, said unit being removable from the clock as anassembled unitary device upon release of said securing means, a clockdial carried by the front frame plate in front thereof,andelectro-magnet ic means carried by the rear frame plate back of saidunit, said unit having an operating ratchet wheel carried therebypositioned on the rear side of the rear frame plate and saidelectro-magnet-ic means having means engaging said ratchet to operatethe clock.

4. An electric clock having a clock movement unit comprising two spacedapart plates rigidlyconnected together with clock movement gears andarbors positioned between said plates and carried thereby, a front frameplate and a rear frame plate, posts spacing said frame plates apart andrigidly securing them together, the front frame plate being apertured toreceive said unit from the front of the clock, means removably securingsaid unit to saidfrontframc plate and in said aperture with the unitprojecting rearwardly of the front frame plate, a clock dial secured tothe front frame plate on the front side thereof, and electro-magneticmeans carried by anti frame plates and independently of ,netic meansbeing positioned at the rear of said unit and said unit having a ratchetcarried thereby on the rear side of the rear clock movement unit plate,and said electro-magnetic means having means adapted to engage saidratchet to operate the clock. A

5. An electric clock having a'clock movement unit comprising two spacedapart'plates rigidly connected together with clock movementgears andarbors positioned between said plates and carried thereby, a frameplate, meaus'for removably securing said unit to said frame plate, saidunit being removable from the clock as an assembled unitary device uponrelease of said securing means, and electro-niagnetic means situatedback of the unit but secured to and carried by said frame plate, saidelectromagnetic means and unit having cooperating parts whereby theformer will operate the clock, a clock dial and clock hands secured tothe front of the clock, a spindle extending through the clock andoperable from the back of the clock, a gear on the front end of saidspindle, said gear bein located between the dial and the front plate 0the clock movement, and'means whereby turning of said spindle and gearwill set the hands of the clock, said spindle being carried by saidframe plate and said clock movement plates being cut away whereby thesaid clock movement may beremoved without removing the spindle from saidframe plate and without removing the gear from said spindle.

6. An electric. clock having a clock movement unit comprising two spacedapart plates rigidly connected together, with clock movement gears andarbors positioned between said plates, 0. frame plate having an aperturetherethrough large enough to receive said unit when inserted from thefront of the clock, a clock dial secured to said frameplate with clockhands in front thereof operated by securing said unit to said frameplate in said aperture, said clock movement unit having a ratchet wheelcarried with the unit for operating the clock, said ratchet wheel beingpositioned back of the rear plate of said first two mentioned clockmovement plates, elec- .tro-magnetic means carried by said frame platesubstantially independently of said clock movement unit and having apawl for engaging said ratchet to operate the clock, a casing for theclock and a post rigidly secured to the said frame plate andindependently of said unit, said post extending rearwardl and beingrigidly connected to the back 0 said said larger andsaid smallerassociated plates together, a ratchet wheel operatively associated withsaid clock movement, an electromagnetic device located between saidlarger plates and fastened to one of said larger plates ratchet eel toactuate said clock.

8. In a clock, a frame comprising two larger plates connected with eachother one of which has an aperture, a clock movement unit comprising aplurality of smaller plates one of which is suitably disposed insaid-aperture, associated means fastening said larger and said smallerplates, motion receiving means associated with said clock movement and amotor mounted between said larger plates operatively associated withsaid motion receivlng means. I

9. An electric clock, a frame comprising a plurality of larger platessuitably connected with each other one of which has an aperture, a clockmovement unit comprising a hair spring regulator lever and a pluralityof smaller plates one of which is suitably disposed'in said aperture,means for fastening said larger and smaller jassociated plates-together,aratchet wheel operatively associated with said clock movement unit, anelectromagnetic device having an aperture mounted between said largerplates, a shaft journaled in said aperture a lever having a forked endmounted on said device and said forked lever being operativelyassociated with said ratchet wheel and said hair spring regulator leverto actuate said clock movement unit and adjust said lever.

10. In a clock, a frame com rising two larger plates suitably connectewith each other one of which has an aperture, a clock movement unitcomprising a air s ring regulating lever and a pluralltyof sm er platesone of which is suitably. disposed in said aperture, means for fasteningsaid associated the clock movement, screws for removablyplates, motionreceivin means on said clock movement unit, a she t journaled 1n one ofsaid larger plates, a forked lever fastened on said shaft, a motormounted between said larger plates, said motor and said forked leverbeing operatively associated with said motion receiving means and saidregulatm lever to actuate the clock movement unit an adjust saidregulating lever.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

, LEWIS J. STERN.

two larger plates suitably each other one of which-has an aperture, a

clock movement unit com rising a'plurahty of smaller plates one of w ichis suitably disshaft, said electro-magnetic

